Samurai Executioner
Encyclopedia
Samurai Executioner, known in Japan
as , is a 10-volume manga
created by writer Kazuo Koike
and artist Goseki Kojima
, the same team that created the popular Lone Wolf and Cub
series. The series was first serialized in Japan, from 1972–1976, arriving two years after Lone Wolf and Cubs start.
The story is set in the Edo period
of feudal Japan
. It revolves around , nicknamed Kubikiri-Asa (literally "Neck-chopper Asa", often transliterated as "Decapitator Asaemon"), a ronin
who is responsible for testing new swords for the shogun
. The character is based on a real-life line of sword-testers who served the Tokugawa Shogunate
up to the early 19th century. He is also frequently called upon to perform executions.
Many of the stories focus not on Asaemon, but on several of the people he meets in the course of his work. More often than not they are the stories of the criminals he executes, told as their last words before receiving the fatal stroke. As with Ogami Itto later, such encounters often give Asa pause for thought and reflection.
The Samurai Executioner series was published in English translation in the United States
by Dark Horse Comics
beginning in 2004. The series was completed with the tenth volume, released on May 26, 2006.
Each volume is written with historical accuracy, although the characters themselves are fictional. In the back of each book, Dark Horse has provided a glossary to help define the many Japanese terms used to keep the stories authentic.
; the latter was his first execution: a criminal who had seduced him as a boy years earlier. He is atypical of portrayals of ronin in that he has a governmental post, owns a substantial house, and does not normally roam the countryside.
Years later, Asaemon is ordered by his superiors to kill Ogami Ittō, but secret interference by Yagyu Retsudo causes his sword to become damaged. During his duel with Ogami, Asaemon's sword breaks, resulting in his death.
, : One of Edo's best policemen, who often uses a hook and rope to capture those he arrests. A lower-caste samurai, he looks up to Asaemon as a teacher and colleague and is the person closest to Asaemon. Asaemon adopted Kasajiro's wife Shinko and acted in the place of the father in law at Kasajiro's wedding.
, : Kasajiro's wife, named for the kappa
tattooed on her back. Daughter of an executed yakuza
, she is a reformed criminal who joined her husband on the Edo police force.
.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as , is a 10-volume manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
created by writer Kazuo Koike
Kazuo Koike
is a prolific Japanese manga writer, novelist and entrepreneur.-Biography:Early in Koike's career, he studied under Golgo 13 creator Takao Saito and served as a writer on the series....
and artist Goseki Kojima
Goseki Kojima
was a Japanese manga artist.-Biography:Kojima was born on the same day as Osamu Tezuka. After getting out of junior high school, Kojima painted advertising posters for movie theaters as his source of income....
, the same team that created the popular Lone Wolf and Cub
Lone Wolf and Cub
is a manga created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series starring Yorozuya Kinnosuke, and is widely recognized as an important and influential work.Lone Wolf and Cub...
series. The series was first serialized in Japan, from 1972–1976, arriving two years after Lone Wolf and Cubs start.
The story is set in the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
of feudal Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It revolves around , nicknamed Kubikiri-Asa (literally "Neck-chopper Asa", often transliterated as "Decapitator Asaemon"), a ronin
Ronin
A or rounin was a Bushi with no lord or master during the feudal period of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the death or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege....
who is responsible for testing new swords for the shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
. The character is based on a real-life line of sword-testers who served the Tokugawa Shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
up to the early 19th century. He is also frequently called upon to perform executions.
Many of the stories focus not on Asaemon, but on several of the people he meets in the course of his work. More often than not they are the stories of the criminals he executes, told as their last words before receiving the fatal stroke. As with Ogami Itto later, such encounters often give Asa pause for thought and reflection.
The Samurai Executioner series was published in English translation in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
beginning in 2004. The series was completed with the tenth volume, released on May 26, 2006.
Each volume is written with historical accuracy, although the characters themselves are fictional. In the back of each book, Dark Horse has provided a glossary to help define the many Japanese terms used to keep the stories authentic.
List of recurring characters
Yamada Asaemon, nicknamed Kubikiri Asa: A young ronin who assumes the post of sword-tester in the first volume. Asaemon's reputation is fearsome among the populace because he killed both his father and his first love. He performed the former at his father's insistence, as the terminally-ill man wanted to test his successor's swordsmanship in an act of seppukuSeppuku
is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...
; the latter was his first execution: a criminal who had seduced him as a boy years earlier. He is atypical of portrayals of ronin in that he has a governmental post, owns a substantial house, and does not normally roam the countryside.
Years later, Asaemon is ordered by his superiors to kill Ogami Ittō, but secret interference by Yagyu Retsudo causes his sword to become damaged. During his duel with Ogami, Asaemon's sword breaks, resulting in his death.
, : One of Edo's best policemen, who often uses a hook and rope to capture those he arrests. A lower-caste samurai, he looks up to Asaemon as a teacher and colleague and is the person closest to Asaemon. Asaemon adopted Kasajiro's wife Shinko and acted in the place of the father in law at Kasajiro's wedding.
, : Kasajiro's wife, named for the kappa
Kappa (mythology)
, alternatively called or , are legendary creatures, a type of water sprite found in Japanese folklore. In Shintō they are considered to be one of many suijin...
tattooed on her back. Daughter of an executed yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
, she is a reformed criminal who joined her husband on the Edo police force.
List of Volumes
The ten volumes are as follows (in English from Dark Horse comics):- When The Demon Knife Weeps
- Two Bodies, Two Minds
- The Hell Stick
- Portrait of Death
- Ten Fingers, One Life
- Shinko the Kappa
- The Bamboo Splitter
- The Death Sign of Spring
- Facing Life and Death
- A Couple of Jitte
Kozure Ōkami
Yamada Asaemon made an appearance in the 1970s Kozure Ōkami (Lone Wolf & Cub) television series in episode “Headhunter Asaemon”, where he was played by actor Gō WakabayashiGo Wakabayashi
is a Japanese film and television actor from Nagasaki.A graduate of Senshu University, Wakabayashi became a member of Shin Kokugeki, then Wakabayashi Promotions. Currently he is a member of Toho Entertainment....
.